Jammu, June 6 -- Centre has included the famous Patnitop hill resort in its global tourist destination scheme, which has sparked optimism for tourist-related growth in the area. Hill resort of Patnitop, 120 kms from Jammu, is in the list of Centre's top 50 places under global tourist destination scheme. The scenic hill resort in the Shivalik belt of the lower Himalayas is known for its cool climes, snowfall during winters, pine trees and greenery yet it remained a subject of utter neglect for decades together, said Ashwani Gupta, a local from Kud. Patnitop had already been the most preferred tourist destination for the people of Jammu and north India due to its proximity and easy accessibility but it was never developed into a proper tourist resort. BJP's MLA from Chenani constituency, Balwant Singh Mankotia, said, "Under Centre's initiative an amount of Rs.500 crore will be spent on infrastructure development and year 2029 has been fixed as the project's deadline. Firstly, a detailed project report in tandem with the stakeholders and a global agency will be prepared. We already had a meeting on Wednesday where we have invited their suggestions. Another meeting is expected in a week or so."htc...